Best Family Law Attorneys in Elgin, IL

Illinois has done away with the arcane term of “child custody” in relation to care of children by parents in divorce or paternity cases. Since 2016, Illinois law terminology regarding “child custody” was eliminated and replaced with “parental responsibilities”. Likewise, the term, “visitation” became “parenting time”. Parents should understand that, as a starting point, there is a presumption under Illinois law that both parents are “fit” to share in responsibility for significant parenting decisions, as well as to share parenting time. This is, in part, based on research demonstrating that it is in the best interests of children when parents are allocated shared decision-making and substantial parenting time with their children. Of course, there can be situations where these may not be in the best interests of the children. When parents disagree about these presumptions, and cannot agree upon a parenting plan, a judge will decide how parental responsibilities and parenting time are to be allocated based on the best interests of the child(ren). Often times, when a parent, or both, alleges that the other parent is not a fit parent, the issues will take months or years to be resolved, resulting in significant expense of money, time and mental energy. Parents are at war and their children are harmed in the process. Explore Child Custody in Illinois:...